Author
Topic: Beeyard weed control (Read 4628 times)

I am thinking about carpeting my main beeyard this month. I've seen some great pictures of how carpet keeps the weeds down. Any idea how long it might last before it becomes more of an eyesore than the weeds?Also, what is the best material to use to keep your hives off the ground? I use cinder blocks and milk crates but am considering building a rack out of treated wood. Any thoughts?

P.S. sorry for all of the questions but I guess that's why there is a forum. I just wish I could contribute somehow (just ask something about apple trees, I dare ya). :D

Anonymous

I know people who use carpet and it seems to last them a copule years depending on how dry or wet the years are. They always have some more throwen out they pick up to put down when it starts to look bad.I use wood chips (Cypress) over the plastic vapor barrier and have my hives set on a home made stand built with land scaping timbers and treated 2'x6'x8'.

Here is anouther thought. How about using ducks and or geese to keep the weeds down. They would love it. I would just put some 2-3 foot high chicken wire around the grounds and this sould keep them in. the ducks are cheeper to buy. Chickens will do this some and they will eat other bugs to like grasshopers and ticks. I am not saying I know this next thing will work but they might even eat the mites that they can see. They have left my bees alone so far. I has worked out good so far for me.

I would like to know how to start some apple seeds though. I have some gala seeds that I got from some apples that we ate the other day. They are almost dried out now. Do i need to plant them in a seed starter try where it is warm and moist. I have heard that apple treesa need to be grafted on. If I just plant these seeds I will still get Galas off the tree won't I? Why does evry body do the grafting any more. Don't laugfe to hard at this ,but you never heard of Jonny apple seed doing any grafting to his trees.

Take care,

BrianP.S.- you could us e the poultry for your own benifets like eges and meat.

I have heard that apple treesa need to be grafted on. If I just plant these seeds I will still get Galas off the tree won't I? Why does evry body do the grafting any more. Don't laugfe to hard at this ,but you never heard of Jonny apple seed doing any grafting to his trees.

Take care,

Brian

Yes you will get Gala apples many, many years from now. Jonny Appleseed (John Chapman born in Leominster, MA out by our own Leominsterbeeman) never saw the apples he sowed from seed. The reason for grafting is to get functioning orchards in our lifetime.

Logged

By the rude bridge that arched the floodTheir flag to Aprils breeze unfurledHere once the embattled farmers stoodAnd fired the shot heard round the world-Emerson

What sould I do then. I would like to grow some apple trees. Could I plant the seed and graft on to it latter. Etheir way I would like to know the best way to start these seeds that I have here. I takeit that apple trees just grow very slow.

You may simply plant your apple seeds and they will likely produce many apple trees for you. However, the fruit will not be true. This means that you will not be able to raise Gala apples off of seedlings from Gala apples. The only way to reproduce the apple and assure yourself the same "type" of apple is through grafting. Grafting a small piece of wood (known as scionwood) from a Gala tree to a known apple rootstock guarantees that all wood above the graft will yield the same fruit as the parent tree (Gala). Anything that grows from below the graft will yield something entirely different and most likely be completely useless. In this way, thousands of apple varieties have been kept around for hundreds of years.By the way most seedlings will start to produce in 10 years or less. If you use the right rootstock, a small piece (2 inches) of scionwood can begin to produce fruit in 3 years.